Do You Ever Feel Mad that You Feel Sad? Be Careful Not to Hide When You Feel Helpless.

Do you ever feel mad that you feel mad? Or maybe mad that you feel sad?

Perhaps you’ve received hard news that’s completely out of your reach or control. You know you can’t do anything about it & yet your emotions follow the facts into the land of feeling helpless…

That’s how I felt yesterday. I’d received some personal news bytes starting Monday that didn’t settle well inside. Each day this week seemed to add another layer of hard things unfolding - things I‘d neatly fold back up & stick in an emotional box to deal with later.

When I arrived to a meeting with a friend who knows me all too well, I said nothing but it’s like the Holy Spirit in her told her everything. She didn’t even speak-she just looked in silence, waiting for me to spill the contents of all the boxes I’d piled up.

When I finished spilling the yuck I said, “I feel mad that I feel sad. There isn’t one thing I can do to fix these circumstances & yet my emotions are all over the place.”

The next thing she said stopped my blathering…she said,

“You’re not concrete, Kimberly.”

My eyes leaked then as they are now because sometimes, it’s like I need permission to be human.

As I process with the Lord this morning, I’m reminded of this one simple Truth:

He’s the only One who really knows us; the person we are when no one else is watching. He knows the ups & downs, the secret thoughts & the hurt things we try to keep hidden in our hearts.

Psalm 10:17 declares that the Lord knows the hopes of the helpless, that He hears our cries & comforts us.

Maybe like me, you have some emotional boxes to unpack with the Lord today, or maybe you have a friend who needs to be seen by God through you?

Whichever the case, we have the Holy Spirit who is ready & waiting to counsel, comfort & guide our spirits before our Father Who sees it all, hears it all & is waiting for us to turn to Him for comfort.

Lord, sometimes it feels like you are far away when hard things happen, but the truth is that we’re often the ones who hide when we feel helpless. Remind us to let feelings of helplessness prompt us to turn to You, our Helper who helps us to look up

when everything around us feels down. 💞 

#OneYearBible

July 14th One Year Bible Readings

1 CHRONICLES 16:37-18:17

ROMANS 2:1-24

PSALM 10:16-18

PROVERBS 19:8-9

If Your Life Became a Published Work, What Would it Proclaim?

“If my life were a published work, what would it proclaim?”

That’s the question that surfaced as I read the account of King David bringing the Ark of God back to Israel with unrestrained worship.

He skips with laughter & dances with such freedom that when his wife sees him from her upper window, she is immediately filled with contempt.

Undaunted, David continues to worship. He humbly lays aside his royal robes, trading them for the simple linen robe of a priest. He intimately knows the Lord, His Shepherd, Whose very Presence is housed in the Ark the priests carry.

His God helped him conquer a lion when he had no weapon but a sling & a stone.

He now knows it was preparation for a much bigger adversary soon to come, a giant named Goliath.

He knows & loves his God Who was with him all the years crazy King Saul tried to kill him!

David has a story written by His Shepherd who faithfully led this shepherd boy every step of the way.

Now, King David leads The Ark of God’s Presence back to Israel with unrestrained worship. He knows with precision the ways God has orchestrated his life, so David orchestrates trumpets & cymbals, lyres & harps, singers & dancers as he led the processional of God’s Presence before the people.

Even after the contempt of his wife Michal, David keeps a single-minded pursuit on the only One that matters by publishing a song of thanksgiving before the entire nation!

He exhorts the people to proclaim his greatness, letting the whole world know what He’s done! He reminds them of Who He is, who they WERE, what He’s done & who they are now!

He writes, 

“Let the whole earth sing to the LORD! Each day proclaim the good news that He saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things He does.”

So how about you? If your life  became a published work, what would it proclaim?

Father, Romans declares that through everything God made, people can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power & divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

May our lives become published works declaring Who You are & what You can do through repentant hearts willing to Follow Your lead!

#OneYearBible

July 13th One Year Bible Readings

1 CHRONICLES 15:1-16:36

ROMANS 1:18-32

PSALM 10:1-15

PROVERBS 19:6-7

Faith is Far More than Belief for Even Demons Believe & Tremble at His Name

Paul begins his letter to the Romans telling them how their faith is being talked about all over the world, I thought, “I want faith like that! Faith that isn’t just a one & done belief in Jesus as Savior, but an ongoing trust of my Lord in such a profound way that it makes people talk!”

I’ll never forget the 1st conversation I had with my husband about faith. We’re just friends at the time & one night I decided to wade into deep waters by asking, “What are your thoughts about God?”

He immediately replied, “Girl, if you need God you’re weak.”😳

My heart sank because I really liked this guy & yet we couldn’t be further apart on this big area of belief.

But to be honest, it was far more than different beliefs…he had this self confidence that seemed like a strong thing, but my insides told me it was maybe a wrong thing?

I’d learned early on what God did for me, sacrificing His Son so I could be made right in His sight & this is accomplished from start to finish by faith!

It is only through faith, not just belief, that we find life eternal!

James 2:19 tells us that even demons BELIEVE Jesus is who He says He is & tremble before Him, but they are not made righteous because they lack faith!

True faith involves knowing, belief, commitment & trust.

It’s not a passive head knowledge of an unknown power, but a loyal attachment to The One Who died so that we might live!

When we fully KNOW what we’ve done & BELIEVE what He’s done (in spite of what we deserve) a current is set in our mind, will, emotions & spirit, that leads our bodies in the sole direction of our Savior!

It is THROUGH faith that a righteous person has life, so when hard things happen, rejoice because it’s yet another test to build our testimony!

Y’all when our faith is built on & continually connected to our vital Source of life, it will be talked about all over the world!

Father, guard us from head-knowledge-faith. In fact, we rejoice when opportunities arise that cause us to question our faith! It’s there, in the scary moments, that our faith is strengthened as we remember Who Jesus is & what He’s done! If we trust that He is Who He says He is, then we can’t help but grow BY faith TO faith!

#OneYearBible

July 12th One Year Bible Readings

1 CHRONICLES 12:19-14:17

ROMANS 1:1-17

PSALM 9:13-20

PROVERBS 19:4-5